Neal Hefti

Born October 29, 1922· Hastings, Nebraska, U.S.

† Died October 11, 2008

1Roles

Born into an impoverished family in Hastings, Nebraska, Hefti started trumpet at eleven and sharpened his arranging talent while still in high school, crafting charts for Nat Towles and other local bands. He entered the professional jazz world as a trumpeter for Woody Herman’s First Herd, where his arrangements of “Woodchopper’s Ball” and “Blowin’ Up a Storm” and original pieces such as “The Good… Read more

Biography written by WatchMoods, based on public sources